Findings of a new study suggest that tarantulas, a spider species, lose their coordination and start behaving clumsily in warmer conditions. This is uncanny and in total contrast to most spider species which are extremely fast. These findings came to the fore as researchers set forth to investigate into the effect of temperature fluctuations on spiders and robots.
Spiders do not make use of their muscles in order to move their limbs. They move them instead with hemolymph, a blood like fluid, which flows into the legs and causes them to extend. The findings of the nest study reveal that increase in temperature affects the thickness and viscosity of hemolymph, thereby affecting the tarantulas’ walking ability.
For the purpose of this study, the researchers looked at Texas brown tarantulas. Tests were carried out at four different temperatures: 59, 75, 88, and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. They observed that the movements of these eight arm
“Hydraulic extension may allow spiders to save space and mass in their limb, but it may come at the expense of control,” said Anna Ahn from Harvey Mudd College after the series of experiments which lasted three months.
“But at the higher temperatures, and the faster running speed, the two joints were less coupled. The two joints on each leg were a lot less well-controlled at the higher temperatures”, she added.
In the findings of the study which was published in The Journal of Experimental Bilogy, Ahn goes on to add that this lesser coordination at faster speeds might be the reason behind the tarantulas’ preferring to hunt in the wee hours of the evening, after the hottest part of the day is over.
More than 900 tarantula species are found across the globe. The Texas brown tarantulas which were studied by these researchers are amongst the most common species and are found throughout the southern United States.
